Railcar couplers are disposed at each end of a railway car to enable joining one end of such railway car to an adjacently disposed end of another railway car. The engageable portions of each of these couplers is known in the railway art as a knuckle. For example, railway freight car coupler knuckles are taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,024,958; 4,206,849; 4,605,133; and 5,582,307.
In many cases when a railcar coupler fails, a replacement coupler must be carried from the locomotive at least some of the length of the train, which may be up to 25, 50 or even 100 railroad cars in length. The repair of a failed coupler can be labor intensive, can sometimes take place in very inclement weather and can cause train delays.